Guatemala declares emergency in four towns to quell mining protests

[Catherina]

36. Liars. Liars! Medical personnel confirm it was live ammuniotion, not rubber bullets

In statements to the press (Minister of the Interior Mauricio López) Bonilla attempted to explain that mining opposition has been used as a pretext for the establishment of organized crime in the region. "There is a difference between legitimate conflict and pseudo-conflict...by saying that they are opposing the mine through delinquent acts, they are hiding behind the excuse of mining opposition. It favors them to make people believe that there is conflict over mining in all of the municipalities."

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On Saturday, April 27 mine security shot at and injured six community members, as they walked on a public road located in front of the mine installations. One of the men remain in the hospital in critical condition. Alberto Rotondo, head of security for Tahoe Resources' subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, is being held responsible for the attack. Medical personnel confirmed the attack was carried out with live ammunition and not rubber bullets, as was initially reported by the company and López Bonilla. On the morning of April 30, Guatemalan authorities arrested Rotondo in the airport as he attempted to flee the country. Rotondo has been formally charged with attempted homicide.

On Monday the 29th, as Minera San Rafael management and the Guatemalan government signed an agreement outlining the royalties to be paid to the state, more than 2,000 residents of San Rafael Las Flores took to the streets in a peaceful march in opposition to the mine project. Later that afternoon, community members intercepted and detained 23 members of the national police in Jalapa, believing that they were mobilizing to repress the march in San Rafael. An operation carried out by the national police the following day resulted in the release of the officers.

Later that same day, a member of the National Police was killed in an armed attack carried out by a group of masked men in Sabana Redonda, a community located near the mine site. While this incident is still under investigation by Guatemalan authorities, the attack matches the pattern previously denounced by human rights organizations, which is characterized by illegal clandestine groups intent on creating instability in the region and delegitimizing peaceful opposition to the mine.

Despite government claims on Thursday that they are in dialogue with mine affected communities, the deployment of 8,500 military and police to the four municipalities suggests otherwise. Far from acting as a mediator, the Guatemalan government has instead chosen to respond to conflict with the repression of communities opposing large-scale development projects and the stigmatization of community leaders and human rights defenders.


NISGUA has been accompanying the consultation processes in the communities surrounding the Tahoe Resources mine site since 2011.

http://nisgua.blogspot.com/2013/05/guatemalan-govt-declares-state-of-siege.html